BC-ME--Maine News Digest, ME

Monday

Dec 31, 2012 at 2:15 PM

Maine at 2 p.m.

The breaking news staffer for Northern New England can be reached in Montpelier, Vt., at (802) 229-0577. The Portland bureau can be reached at 772-4157. For technical problems, please call (800) 882-1408.

To reach the photo department, call 617-357-8106. AP stories, along with the photos that accompany them, can also be obtained from http://www.apexchange.com. Reruns also are available from customer support at 877-836-9477.

The email address for member contributions is apmaine(at)ap.org

SNOWE LEGACY

PORTLAND — While Congress has been engaging in political brinksmanship over the so-called "fiscal cliff," Sen. Olympia Snowe has been busy cleaning out her office. In her desk she has found a career's worth of proof that Republicans and Democrats can come together to reach consensus. Many recently elected senators, she said, don't know anything but corrosive partisanship. They don't know how to work together, she said. By David Sharp.

TENANT KILLINGS

PORTLAND, Maine — A 74-year-old Maine man was scheduled to appear in court Monday to face charges in the shooting deaths of two of his tenants after a possible dispute over where they parked their cars during a snowstorm, state police said. James Pak was arrested at about 10 p.m. Saturday after a three-hour standoff at his home in Biddeford, about 15 miles south of Portland, police said. He is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Derrick Thompson, 19, and Thompson's 18-year-old girlfriend, Alivia Welch. He was being held at the York County Jail in Alfred. By Clarke Canfield.

SNOWMOBILING SEASON

MONTPELIER, Vt. — At the Lakefront Express Mart in Island Pond, Vt., owner Bob Dexter says he's hopeful about a winter of good snow, good snowmobiling and strong business. Many of northern New England's rural communities depend on snowmobilers to keep stores, restaurants, motels and gas stations going strong, and they've seen a sudden increase in traffic thanks to the snows of recent days.

With

— SNOWMOBILER THROUGH ICE — Maine wardens are searching for the body of a 45-year-old woman who crashed through the ice on Rangeley Lake on her snowmobile and didn't come up in Maine's first snowmobile fatality of the season.

— MISSING SNOWMOBILERS — Wardens say three snowmobilers are missing in western Maine after going for an evening ride and failing to return.

ODD NEW ENGLAND

BOSTON — It was a year when a bear vacationed on Cape Cod, a third-grader dodged jury duty, and police briefly pursued a monster in Boston. Weird news grabbed lots of headlines in New England in 2012. By Bridget Murphy.

— HIGH TECH JOBS — The state is taking aim at a projected gap between the number of high-tech jobs coming to Maine and the lack of qualified people to fill them.

— PORTLAND-WATER — Portland Water District officials say an aging infrastructure could mean more massive water main breaks like one in mid-December.

— GAS PRICES-MAINE — Gas prices in Maine are up nearly three cents per gallon in the past week. Price-monitoring website MaineGasPrices.com reports Monday that the average retail cost of a gallon of gasoline jumped to $3.51.

— SHERIFF RETIREMENT — One of Maine's longest serving law enforcement officers has retired after 46 years in a police uniform. Franklin County Sheriff Dennis Pike retired Friday.